New Delhi, Sept. 27 -- As criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar by opposition parties intensifies, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's statements on the Election Commission should not be amplified in the public sphere to prevent a "wrong message" from being sent to society.

His remarks come amid mounting criticism from Opposition parties over the functioning of the poll panel following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise. The report said the two ...